Read my book and go to paradise, says president

Turkmenistan's autocratic leader told his country's youth to read his book three times if they wanted to go to heaven, Turkmen television reported yesterday. Rukhnama, which gives moral and spiritual guidance, has been deemed a sacred text by the government and is required reading for pupils.

Speaking at a concert to mark a national holiday, President Saparmurat Niyazov said: "A person that reads Rukhnama becomes smart ... and after it, he will go straight to heaven. I asked Allah that for a person who reads it three times - at home, at sunset and at dawn - to go straight to heaven."